Yackity yack -- let's talk!

I'm happy to announce the first day of A Cool Summer Tail Blog Tour. The book launched this spring, but since this is a nonfiction children's book about how animals adapt to heat, it seemed appropriate to save the tour until the temperatures got nice and steamy. We all know how hard it is to stay cool when the thermometer rises. Can you imagine how much harder it would be if you were wearing a fur coat? A Cool Summer Tail gives readers some insight on how animals survive hot weather. Blog tour participants can be entered to win a free, signed book and a plush animal featured in the book (fox, bear, or squirrel) just by visiting each stop on the tour and commenting to let us know you popped in. One commentor will be randomly selected. You'll learn about some very cool sites along the way, too. Here's the schedule:

Last evening, I was treated to a sneak peek of Christina Wald's illustrations for our book, A Warm Winter Tail, and I am over the moon. She has captured the light, color, details and feel I had so hoped for. If you visit her blog at http://christinawald.blogspot.com/, you'll see a couple of images. I can't share them here yet, but as soon as I can, they will be here --poster sized!

I can now say there are few better feelings in life for a writer than to see actual drawings for her debut picture book. Even in the sketch phase, Christina Wald (www.christinawald.com) has drawn what I pictured in my mind as I wrote -- without any conversation between us -- and I'm in awe of her talent. I cannot wait to see the finished work and to share it with readers.I also appreciate being kept in the loop by my editor. An author herself, she must understand how wonderful it is to see a new book come alive.

I'm thrilled to announce Sylvan Dell will publish my fiction picture book, Warm in the Winter Tail. The scheduled release date is fall 2012 and Christina Wald will illustrate. Her work is beautiful and I can't wait to see how she interprets the text. In addition to their reach into trade and educational markets, Sylvan Dell Publishing is at the forefront of digital books. From their website: Award-winning picture books that integrate Science, Math, and Geography . . . plus interactive eBook technology and Spanish Translation.Check them out!